It is important for pilots to know the layout of the taxiways and runways when taxing for takeoff or from landing. Navigation of an airport surface (taxiways/runways) can be as difficult (from a pilot's workload perspective) and dangerous (from an aviation safety perspective) as the airborne portion of the flight, especially in limited visibility of night and/or weather, or at unfamiliar airports. An increase in pilot workload typically results in decreased safety: the pilot must interpret the information provided on the screen occupying her thought processes when she may have many other decisions to make. Undesired results include taxing onto unapproved taxiways/runways, not being made aware of an obstacle, and becoming disorientated while taxing.
Traditionally, pilots have relied upon paper charts to gain knowledge of the airport layout and understand their position within, and how to navigate, the airport taxiway/runway matrix. More recently, this information has been made available to the pilot by electronic flight bags and electronic chart readers. However, these known electronic displays are typically monochromatic and without any prominence provided for runways and critical markers, making it difficult for the pilot to properly discern between taxiways, runways, and obstacles such as construction and slopes in the taxiway.
As the operation of vehicles such as airplanes becomes more complex, it is preferable that the vehicle operator (e.g., the flight crew) be attentive and receive information in a timely manner to ensure proper operation. One means for providing information is a near-to-eye (NTE) display system. A NTE display system is a type of head worn display (HWD) system which uses a visor, a helmet, or a cap to place a display in front of one or both eyes. Typically the NTE display is semi-transparent (such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), liquid crystal on silicon (LCos) display, or organic light emitting diode (OLED) display) so that the information presented on the NTE display appears to the user superimposed on the visible scene. For example, a NTE display can provide a three-dimensional view of a scene outside the vehicle for use by the vehicle's operator even in poor visibility conditions, such as thick fog conditions.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a method and system displaying runway edges and obstacles in a airport taxi environment that may be more easily understood by the pilot. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the exemplary embodiments will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.